Holy Peace!

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

After my recent visits to archaeological sites, I decided to go to a beach. A touristy beach. Anywhere else, ‘touristy’ might be synonymous with ‘tacky’ and can rarely be paired with ‘charming’, yet towns in Crete often manage to make this rarity happen, and this is one of those happy exceptions.

Agia Galini (‘Holy Peace’) is roughly opposite Matala in a small gulf in southern Crete. It is a little village circling a harbour. Although it bustles with activity, I didn’t see any cars, so there were children playing and wandering about. I really like the family-friendliness of small towns in Crete.

I sat in a taverna that attracted me with the promise of a ‘thieves’ oven’. I had lamb cooked in this fashion. It turns out that a ‘thieve’s oven’ is a clay pot buried in the ground. The fire sits atop the clay pot and conceals the ‘stolen’ meat of a goat or lamb whilst it cooks without blatantly revealing the mischief through smell and smoke -like a spit roast would. Well, my verdict is that stealing the lamb was probably worth it! This was absolutely scrummy.

Wandering up the hill, I came across a mythical take-off platform: the rock where it is said that Daedalus and Icarus set flight. The story says that Daedalus had come to Crete banished from Athens, where the great inventor had slain his nephew (his apprentice) for fear that he would surpass the master’s abilities. So Daedalus landed in Crete, where he worked for King Minos. The king had asked him to build a labyrinth to keep the mighty Minotaur inside. Daedalus built a maze so complicated that it was impossible to escape from it.

This was the case until young and brave prince Theseus came to Crete and offered himself as willing bait to enter the Labyrinth. He would attempt to slay the Minotaur. What he wanted was to end a vengeful ritual whereby a number of youths from his land were presented to the Minotaur every seventh year to be killed by this savage beast. Theseus was handsome and witty, and stole the heart of King Minos’ daughter, Ariadne. Madly in love, the princess decided she would help save her prince and flee with him. She gave him a spindle and instructed him to unravel the thread as he went into the Labyrinth so he could find the way out. So Theseus slay the Minotaur and successfully fled the Labyrinth, taking Princess Ariadne with him.

King Minos was furious. Filled with rage at the builder of the Labyrinth, he imprisoned Daedalus an his son, Icarus, in a tower. There was no way out.

The inventor came up with a solution, though. He built wings made of beeswax and feathers, and successfully managed to learn to fly. Daedalus strapped on his wings, and instructed Icarus to do the same. There was a caveat: they could not approach the sun, because the beeswax would melt, and they couldn’t brush the foam of the sea, because it would ruin the feathers. Both of them flew high into the sky. It was so exhilarating that Icarus forgot the warnings and got too close to the sun, whereby his wings melted and he inevitably fell into the sea and drowned. The island nearest to where the boy drowned is called Icaria, in his honour.

If you want to visit the mythical Agia Galini, or would like to set off to the islands without risking the fate of Icarus, contact Karma Travel! They will sort out your airplane tickets, transfers, accommodation, guided tours, and organise visits to vineyards, olive groves, raki distilleries, and show you Crete’s traditions. Come and experience authentic Crete with a tour organised by Karma Travel!